Cowboy Football MVPs Easy to Identify

STILLWATER – It is not difficult at all to come up with the two players, one on each side of the ball, that would be the Oklahoma State football MVPs during the bye week and honestly, I couldn’t see those names changing after the next game with Texas. I find it hard to see those names changing in the second half of the season. Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and running back Jaylen Warren are clearly the most valuable performers so far on either side of the football. The beautiful aspect of football is that it is the greatest team sport ever played and as good as Warren and Rodriguez have been they could not have accomplished what they have without the other 10 players around them.

Malcolm Rodriguez came back for his super senior season, actually this is just season five for the Wagoner, Okla. native, but he played as a true freshman when he was a safety. He grew into a linebacker and has started their the past three seasons and five games into this one. He is third in the nation in tackles and leading the Big 12 averaging 11 tackles a game. He has 31 unassisted stops, 23 assisted tackles, five tackles-for-loss, a pass broken up, two fumbles forced and one recovered.

Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer

Rodriguez celebrates after his fumble recovery for a touchdown vs. Kansas State.

"He's making me look good,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said earlier this season. “That's what I tell him before the game and after it 'I'm glad you're here with me and go out and make me look good.' We work really well together.”

Knowles was excited in the off season every time a veteran player announced he was staying, but he knew when Rodriguez made it public he was up for another season in Stillwater that Rodriguez could really help propel this defense to another level.

“He's almost like a son to me,” added Knowles. “He knows the scheme and knows how I think, and I do my best to put him in situations where he can see the play and react to it because he's a guy that gets people on the ground."

Rodriguez has bragged about the defensive line, his fellow linebacker in Devin Harper, and the strong secondary the Cowboys have. It is truly a strong effort at every level of the defense that has led to Oklahoma State being a top 25 defense in the nation.

Jaylen Warren is the bowling ball-shaped running back that transferred in from Utah State and many of us watching spring practice began to get excited shortly after seeing him. He is a physical runner that runs angry, but has speed and some escapability that makes him exceptional combined with his strength and toughness. He singlehandedly took over the 21-20 win over Boise State on their famed blue turf. He put streaks in that turf with 218-yards rushing and two touchdowns including a 75-yard scoring sprint that signaled the take off for the Cowboys offense.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Warren at the finish of his 75-yard touchdown run at Boise.

"It honestly has been amazing. I love having him, you know, running the ball, making them think it's run so we can pass the ball,” explained Oklahoma State wide receiver Tay Martin. “We feed off each other so I like the fact that he is able to get five yards, seven yards, just having a dynamic guy, a dynamic running back like that, it just allows you to just pick them apart in the passing aspect of it. So, I'm just grateful to have that kind of running back."

Warren has needed Martin and quarterback Spencer Sanders and the other receivers to present that passing threat. The offensive line has improved each week and may have had one of their best efforts against Baylor as Warren won the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award for the second time this season with 126-yards and two touchdowns.

Warren even drew compliments from the other side in Baylor middle linebacker Dillon Doyle.

"I was impressed with him,” Doyle said. “We knew what he was coming into the game. He's a one cut guy, he gets up field fast. If you're displaced, he'll punish you for it.”

There is no doubt at this point that Warren and Texas’ running back Bijan Robinson would be your All-Conference choices at this point. Rodriguez is easily a first-team All-American, but again, neither is there without the efforts of their teammates.